Game playing may be based on skill and/or based on chance. In some games based at least in part on chance, a player may place a wager on one or more rounds of play and may receive a payout based on an outcome of a round and/or the wager. Games may be played through various devices, or may be conducted without a device. Examples of devices for games include, without limitation, personal computers, video poker machines, pachinko machines, video blackjack machines, video keno machines, video lottery machines, video bingo machines, and reeled slot machines (e.g., mechanical and/or video reeled slot machines).
Blackjack, which is also known as Twenty-one, is a popular card game often played in physical casinos, online or “virtual” casinos, and other gaming venues. In Blackjack, a dealer representing the casino or “house” is pitted against one or more players, with the dealer playing separately against each player. While a popular version of Blackjack is described herein, other versions with slightly different rules are also played. In each round of play, each player makes an initial bet before any cards are dealt. The dealer then deals a starting hand consisting of two cards to each player and to himself. The two cards dealt to each player are typically turned face up, but only one of the two cards dealt to the dealer is turned face up (i.e., the “dealer upcard”). Each numbered card (i.e., each card numbered “2”-“10”) has a value equal to the card number, each face card (i.e., each jack, queen and king) has a value of ten, and each ace has a value of one or eleven, depending on which value is more beneficial to the player. The suit of each card does not affect its value. The value of the starting hand for each player, and for the dealer, is determined by totaling the value of the two cards. For example, a starting hand consisting of a five of spades (“5”) and a ten of clubs (“T”) has a total value of 15.
Note that, in the remainder of the present specification, each card is referred to by a two-digit code, with the first digit representing the card's rank (i.e., 2-9, T for “ten”, J for “jack”, Q for “queen”, K for “king”, and A for “ace”), and the second digit representing the card's suit (i.e.,  for “club”, ♦ for “diamond”, ♥ for “heart”, and  for “spade”). As noted above with respect to most variations of Blackjack, however, the suit of each card does not affect its value (although the suit may affect a card's value in other types of games).
The party (i.e., each player or the dealer) that accumulates cards with the highest numerical total, without exceeding 21, wins the round of play. To increase the total value of his starting hand, each player is allowed to take as many additional cards or “hits” as desired until that player chooses to “stand” with a final hand having a total value of less than or equal to 21, or until that player “busts” with a final hand having a total value exceeding 21. If the player busts, he loses his initial bet. If not, once each of the remaining players has finished his turn, the dealer turns over the card that he dealt face down to himself. If the dealer's hand has a total value of 17 or greater, he is typically required to stand. However, if the dealers hand has a total value of less than 17, he is typically required to draw one or more additional cards until he obtains a hand with a total value of 17 or greater, at which point he must stand. Thus, the dealer has no discretion about taking cards. If the dealer's final hand is greater than 21, each player who did not bust wins. If the dealer's final hand has a total value of between 17 and 21, inclusively, any player who did not bust and has a final hand having a total value greater than the total value of the dealer's final hand wins, while any player who did not bust but has a final hand having a total value less than the total value of the dealer's final hand loses. Each winning player is typically paid based upon his initial bet using a 1:1 ratio (e.g., so that a $10 bet results in a $20 payout), while each losing player loses his initial bet. (In this application, the amount of a “payout” includes the return of the underlying bet plus any net winnings.) If a player's final hand has the same total value as the dealer's final hand, the result of the round of play is declared to be a “push”, and the player's initial bet is returned to him.
Blackjack is typically played in accordance with a number of other conventional rules. For example, if a player's starting hand consists of an ace and a second card having a value of ten (e.g., a ten or a face card), for a total value of 21, the player is deemed to have a winning hand referred to as a “Blackjack”. A player who has a Blackjack is typically paid based upon his initial bet using a 1.5:1 ratio (e.g., such that a $10 bet results in a $25 payout), unless the dealer was also dealt a Blackjack, in which case the round of play may be declared to be a push. A Blackjack is different, and has a different payout, than a final hand having more than two cards and which has a total value of 21. A Blackjack will beat such a final hand having a total value of 21.
The card game of Blackjack also includes a number of other conventional rules that provide a player with additional options for playing the game. For example, Blackjack includes rules for conventional “insurance” (hereinafter referred to as “Blackjack insurance” or “21 insurance”), “surrender”, “doubling down”, and “splitting pairs”. Each of these rules is now described in the following paragraphs.
“Blackjack insurance” provides each player with the option of making a side bet if that player believes, based upon the dealer upcard, that the dealer may have a Blackjack. Blackjack insurance is a side bet since it is distinct from the player's initial bet. A player is allowed to make a Blackjack insurance side bet only if the dealer upcard is an ace. A player is typically allowed to wager, for this side bet, up to one-half of his initial bet. A player wins this side bet if the card that was initially dealt face down to the dealer completes a Blackjack for the dealer, and otherwise loses this side bet. A player who wins this side bet will typically be paid based upon his side bet using a 2:1 ratio (e.g., such that a $5 side bet results in a $15 payout), while a player who loses will lose his side bet. Since a player who wins this side bet is likely to have lost the initial bet (since the dealer's hand turned out to be a Blackjack), the player's winnings on this side bet will typically cancel out the player's loss on his initial bet, hence the name “Blackjack insurance” for this side bet. Thus, with Blackjack insurance, each player is allowed to place a side bet that will win if the dealer's hand turns out to be a Blackjack.
“Surrender” provides each player with the option of terminating a round of play after the starting hands have been dealt, for use in situations where that player has been dealt a “bad” starting hand that is likely to bust (if an additional card is drawn) or to lose to the dealer's hand (if an additional card is not drawn). If, for example, a player's starting hand consists of a 5 and a 10 and the dealer's upcard is a J♦, only an additional card of 6 or below will not “bust” the player, while “standing” with only 15 points is likely to lose to the dealer. In this situation, the player is likely to bust or lose. Surrender is typically practiced by the player taking back one-half of his initial bet and “surrendering” the other one-half of his initial bet to the dealer while terminating the round of play. For example, if a player who made a $10 initial bet surrenders, he takes back $5 of his initial bet, surrenders the other $5 to the dealer, and terminates the round of play. The surrender option has not proven to be popular among Blackjack players.
“Doubling down” provides each player with the option of doubling his initial bet while agreeing to take one and only one additional card, for use in situations where the player believes that one and only one additional card is likely to improve his starting hand to a winning hand without “busting”. If the player “busts” with the one additional card, or does not “bust” but still loses to the dealer, the player loses both his initial bet and doubling down bet. However, if the player's three-card hand beats the dealer, the player wins an amount based upon the total of his initial bet and doubling down bet using a 1:1 ratio (e.g., such that a $10 initial bet and a $10 double down bet results in a $40 payout). Thus, with “doubling down”, a player is allowed to increase the size of his bet in situations where the player believes that his hand is likely to win.
“Splitting pairs” provides each player who is dealt a starting hand consisting of two cards of the same rank (e.g., a pair of aces) with the option of “splitting” the two cards into separate hands. If the player elects to split his starting hand, he must apply his initial bet to one of the hands while placing a second bet of the same amount to the other hand. The player then plays each of the hands normally, except that an ace and a card having a 10 value comprise a 21 instead of a “Blackjack”.
When playing Blackjack, a player is likely to be dealt one or more “bad” starting hands, each of which is likely to bust (if an additional card is drawn) or to lose to the dealer's hand (if an additional card is not drawn). An exemplary “bad” starting hand consists of a 5 and a 10 against a dealer upcard of an A♦. Under the conventional rules of Blackjack, a player who is dealt such a “bad” starting hand has limited options. If the player takes an additional card, he is likely to bust. If the player stands, he is likely to lose to the dealer's hand. If the player makes a Blackjack insurance side bet, he is likely to lose since the dealer's face-down card is unlikely to have a value of ten. In other situations, as where the dealer's upcard is a 9♥, the Blackjack insurance side bet option is not even available to the player since the dealer cannot have a Blackjack. The “doubling down” option is unattractive since the player does not have a good starting hand that is likely to win. The “splitting pairs” option is unavailable since the player was not dealt a pair. Although the “surrender” option may be available, this option has proven to be unpopular among Blackjack players. Thus, under the conventional rules of Blackjack, the player is left in a position of not wanting to play his starting hand despite having already committed an initial bet on that hand. If the player has already lost a number of hands and believes that he is undergoing an “unlucky” streak, he may become frustrated or discouraged, and may stop playing and/or leave the gaming venue (e.g., by leaving the casino, or logging off the online gaming site). When a player stops playing, the casino or the gaming site will earn no additional revenue from the player.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide at least one additional option to a Blackjack player who is dealt an unfavorable starting hand. It would also be desirable to provide a Blackjack player who made an initial bet and is dealt an unfavorable starting hand with at least one additional option. Preferably, the additional option will help prevent the player from being discouraged from playing further, and could be profitably provided by a physical, on-line or “virtual” casino, or other gaming operator.
Besides various versions of Blackjack, many other types of games of chance and/or skill will be known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Such games may include, without limitation, casino games, slot machine games, card games (e.g., poker), sports games, video games, and board games.